Egypt State Information Service

1 - Egypt from Past wonders to a glorious future

Since the dawn of civilisation and over thousands of years,Egypt was -and stillis -a maker of history. On its land,human civilisation took its first steps.On the banks of the great River Nile,man learnt how to cultivate and to build;how to create and originate; how to employ the elements of life for the fragment of his needs and to elevate his humanity.

Egypt experienced -over the ages - a noble and wonderful human advance, where the incoming mixed with the inherited in a melting pot untill it became a model for an open international society where philosophies, civilisations and relblons blend.

Our great Egyptian people, along their illustrious history full of human contribution, have fought mammoth battles and united behind their objectives, summoned all their will and determination and all their capatilltles and energies.

Egypt's spirit has continued over the ages to drive its generations, one after the other, to stand together behind a creative human effort where the genius of the Egyptian mixed with the genius of the site and place;where the energies of the nation smelted giving rise to a wondrous accomplishments akin to miracles,stunning the whole world and preserving for Egypt its leadership and standing. A home for civilisation,a guiding light to progress and a fortress for peace.

Egypt,as it embarks on a new epic of national labour, connects the present with the future through giant projects. Opening new horizons in the history of our human effort and changing many of the axioms that restricted efforts of development within the confines of the old valley, it offers opportunity for the creation of settlement community,full of comprehensive development work ranging from agriculture to industry, mining and tourism,in an integrated plan which puts Egypt on the threshold of the twenty-first century.

The words of H.E. President Mohamed Hosny Mubarak reflect the Egyptian people's long history reliance and willingness to tackle the challenges of the day, and those of tomorrow.
With the world economic order taking shape on the basis of globalisation,for Egypt to successfully interact in this competitive arena it must build a modern state able to face the challeges and changes in the modern world,whilst maintaining viable foundations for the future of new generations.

To these ends President Hosny Mubarak has called for a programme to re-design national performance in order to modernise Egypt. This will mean changes not only in the structure of business and industry across the broad spectrum of Egyptian life, encompassing the social, educational and cultural fields, as well legislative and political components.

Just as the ancient Egyptians were to create Wonders of the World in building their great pyramids,so the Egyptians of today are embarking on mega-projects that will be wonders of engineering.None come larger than the development of some 890,000 feddans (2,118,645 hectares) of the Southern Valley;the feddan was the only traditional measure maintained when Egypt adopted decimalization,being equivalent to roughly 2.3805 hectares. Of this land, 540,000 feddans (1,285,47 hectares) are to be reclaimed within the project of the Toshka and Sheikh Zayed Canal,to be irrigated by Nile water,the remainder being cultivated by subterranean water. A similar National project is also underway to develop North Sinai, once again bringing more land under cultivation, as well as providing the impetus for industry and the establishment of new communities.

The importance of these projects is not confined solely to the expansion of Egypt's agricultural capabilities, important though this may be, but to the total development of the regions. With the mining resources available in these areas, new industries will spring up, creating employment opportunities and new townships linked by modern infrastructure. This regional development is of the utmost importance for Egypt suffers from a regional population imbalance, with the narrow confines of the Nile valley bursting at the seams. While Southern Egypt for example, contributes 58.7 percent of Egypt's total area, it is currently home to but 16.9 percent of the population. Sinai too is, sparsely populated at present, althougl it is hoped that up to 3 million people will settle there by the year 2007.

Yet Egypt is also forging ahead in other fields. Science and technology hold the key to the nation's advancement and Egypt is not without prodigious talents in these fields - Dr. Ahmed Zewail was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize it Chemistry, the first Egyptian, Arab or African to receive a Nobel science award since their inception in 1901.

To further advancement in these fields, Egypt has embarked on a series of bold ventures to restore its position as a centre of knowledge and learning as it was in Ptolemictimes.The establishment of such facilities as the modernistic Mubarak City of Science and the Intelligent Village will provide Egyptians with the opportunity to conduct research in their home country as well as becoming regional centres of excellence in the fields of science and technology.

Great advances have also been made in telecommunications and related fields, including Internet technology. In a marked change of tactics, the governmen is planning to convert Telecom Bgyp from a government department working in a monopolistic environment to telecom operator that's a customer,profit and market orientated organisation.This blossoming of the telecommunication sector has also supported the development of an information technology industry and as elsewhere there has been a proliferation of high tech companies as more and more Egyptians go on-line.

Egypt was also the first Arab nation to have its own satellites, Nilesat 101 & 102. Satellite television has changed the face of Egyptian media and the Egyptian television and movie industry supplie much of the Arab-speaking world with shows from its Media Production City it Cairo. Egypt is planning to attract more media companies to its recently launcher "FreeMediaZone"by offering its existing media infrastructure and adding government economic support. In the same vein, the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology has set up incubators to help fledgling IT companies develop their ideas.

All these mega-projects demand substantial capital investment of course, although many are only 25 percent financed by the government, the remainder of the funds coming from the private sector thanks to the growth in the private banking sector. While Egypt's budget deficit has been allowed to increase to 3.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP),budget spending has been brought back under control and the government has repaid much of the 25 billion Egyptian Pounds (US$ 6.4 billion) it owed to the private sector.

Most importantly though, the fundamentals of the Egyptian economy remain strong. It has a diversified economy, with substantial natural gas reserves to supply both national demand and the export market. Foreign debt, at US$ 27 billion, is only 30 percent of GDP,inflation is a low 2.3 percent and there are encouraging figures from the Central Bank - market liquidity rose 11 percent and bank deposits were up 12 percent on the previous year.
With 5.5 percent economic growth forecast for the current year, the mood is definitely upbeat that Egypt is on track to move from past wonders to a glorious future.

Stretching from Nubiain the south to the Mediterranean in the north and from the Red Sea in the east to the desert border with Libya in the west, Egypt has been called "the Motherland of the World," "Land of Civilisations" and "The Greatest Power in Human History".

Through its 7,000 years or more record of civilisation, Egypt has been a master and pioneer in science, arts, culture, architecture, as well as almost all the other fields of human knowledge. For during this period of time Egypt has witnessed several civilisations, serving as a cradle for Pharaonic civilisation, an incubator for Greco-Roman civilisation, a becon of Coptic civilisation and a protector of Islamic civilisation.

The greatest of these without doubt the Pharaonic era, which in three distinct stages, the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms - for nearly 3000 years. From roughly 3200 BC when King Menes succeeded in uniting the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt until the Asssyrians occupied the land during the 21st to the 28th Dynasties - to be followed by the Persians. Egypt was ruled by the Pharaohs. The era only came to an end in 332 BC when Alexander the Great added Egypt to his list of coquests.

While Alexander's name is immortalised through his city of Alexandria, his early death saw his general, Ptolemy lay the foundations of the Ptolemic Dynasty that ruled Egypt from 323 to 30 BC. It was a time of revitalisation in arts and science, based at Alexandria with its great university and library. Although Egypt become just another Roma after 30 BC,it was a prized possession,as the Egyptians were glassblowing and papermaking,besides the manufacture of perfume, cosmetics and fine linen fabrics. As the largest trading and manufacturing centre in the Eastern Mediterranean,Alexandria was second only to the city of Rome in the whole Empire.

With the advent of Christianity, the Coptic era came to the fore. From the 5th century AD right up to the Arab conquest, the Coptic influence lay strong across the land,borrowing particularly in art and music from the spirit of ancient art that had been undinminished by either Greek or Roman occupation. With the arrival Islam,a new golden age for arts and architecture was to arise in Egypt with the building of mosques,fortresses and city walls.Yet through the centuries the influence of Egypt was to wane as greater powers rose on the northern side of the Mediterranean.

By dint of the all-encompassing reforms he introduced, Muhammad Ali must be considered as the founder of Modern Egypt. He encouraged and sponsored men of learning,scientists and artists, built a powerful army as well as military academy and encouraged shipbuilding industry in both Cairo and Alexandria.Special attention was paid to the administration of government affairs,weeding out the venal laissez-faire attitude that had grown up with neglect.
During the first half of the 19th century,a full economic revival was in full swing,special attention being given to agriculture and irrigation.

To impart a sense of national pride, and to preserve the nation's coffers, Muhammad Ali dispensed with the import of many foreign-made goods, creating national factories and plants to meet the needs of the army and the public. Trade flourished during his rule, as international trade routes were made secure and an Egyptian fleet built to serve foreign trade.To meet the growing manpower needs he had created,Muhammad Ali enthusiastically embraced the concept of a wider education base. New schools were built,providing not only basic education but specialised training as well, while educational missions were dispatched to Europe to transfer the modern science to Egypt.

Following Muhammad Ali's death, his successors did their best to catch up with European civilisation, though the Egyptian 'industrial revolution' had started late.Khedive Ismail was perhaps the most successful, and it was during his rule that railroads spread across the land and the Suez Canal was opened to international navigation, in 1869.

Yet the re-awakening of the Egyptian power system and development of human resources had another effect, a growing discontent at foreign intervention. Egypt was not yet ready however to take on the Europeans in all fields and following the Orabi Revolution of 1862, found itself occupied and declared a British protectorate in 1914. Popular resistance and nationalist movements quickly escalated,leading to the 1919 Revolution calling for independence. Britishoccupation ended in 1922 with Egypt being declared an independent state, the first Egyptian constitution, being issued the following year.

Like other non-combatant nations, Egypt was adversely affected by World War II and the country had fallen into a state of malaise when under the ladership of Gamal Abdel Nassar, the armed forces overthrew the monarchy in a bloodless coup on 23 July 1952. A new vitality returned to the country as industry and production was developed and outstanding achievements were also made in the fields of education,health, agriculture and construction - the Aswan High Dam being completed from 60-1970. In the field of foreign policy,Egypt adopted a stance of positive neutrality while encouraging national liberation movements.

It was Egypt's steadfast support for the just cause of the Palestinian people that saw four costly wars fought with Israel. Gamal Abdel-Nasser was to die in Member 1970 with Egyptian lands still under Israeli occupation,but in the October War of 1973,Egyptian forces once more triumphantly crossed to the east bank of the Suez Canal. It was Egypt's victories in the October War that prompted President Anwar El-Sadat to contemplate a radical settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict and establish a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. His efforts -including an historic visit to Israel in 1977- were to culminate on the lawn of the White House in Washington on March 1979,with the signing of a peace treaty with Israel (Camp David Accord).

Following the untimely death of President Sadat in 1981, former air force officer, Mohamed Hosny Mubarak assumed office based on a public referendum.Since that time,he has sought to bring about internal stability and improve and firmly establish democratic and freedom principles. In conjunction with these political ideals,Egypt has undergone a more tangible transformation in the sectors of infrastructure and production and services, thus raising the living standards of its people.Joining her husband's efforts to bring the Egyptian people closer to living standards of the industrialised world. The wife of the President,Suzanne Mubarak has worked tirelessly at both home and abroad for the promotion of women's rights and for Arab women's rights in particular.

3 - Egypt,treasure trove of wonders
People have been coming to Egypt for many thousands of years,for it is all things to all people.By their very nature,the Egyptian people have always been known for their love, tolerance, cordiality and hospitality and thus Egypt has been a natural sanctuary for those like the Holy Family who sought refuge from persecution.

The craftsmanship of its artisans attracted the traders, whilst its fame as a centre of learning brought scholars from near and far. The same holds true to this day, although the vast majority of visitors to Egypt's shores are now the tourists, eager to explore this treasure trove of civilisations both old and new.

Here remains the last of the Wonders of the Ancient World - the Great Pyramid of Cheops, guarded by the mysterious Sphynx, part man, part lion. Standing on the rather stark plain of Giza not far from Cairo, the pyramids figure highly on any tourist's list.

But the history of Egypt is about the Nile, for this great river has always been the life-giving artery of Egyptian civilisations.Yet unlike other great rivers such as the Mississippi or the Amazon, the Nile has a magical quality that captures the imagination of all including British writer Agatha Christie who used it as a setting for her famous mystery 'Death on the Nile'.

It was along its banks that the great cities of Ancient Egypt stood and kings built their magnificent palaces. It was also here in more recent times that the late Aga Khan used to spend his summer and his mausoleum near Luxor is a modern edifice of splendour in keeping with those built many centuries before.

The ancient city of Luxor is an ideal centre to explore Pharaonic Egypt, with the magnificant temples such as Karnak and Habu, as well as the Valley of the Kings and of the Queens within easy reach.The name Aswan of course is synonymous with one of the engineering wonders of the modern world, the great high dam that formed Lake Nasser and controls the flow of the Nile. It is also the centre from which to explore the ancient temples of Abu Simbel,or take a trip to the Island of Philae.

The only way to feel the true romance of the Nile though is be afloat on it, either on one of the magnificent river cruisers or a traditional felucca, a type of vessel that has sailed the Nile since time immemorial.

Yet Egypt is not just a collection of Pharaonic memories,magnificent though hey may be, for the city of Alexandria affords glimpses of its Greek and Roman roots. Cairo too is a mixture of old and new, a bustling modern city that still affords space for its wonderful architecture from both the Coptic and classical Islamic eras, besides being the nation's capital.

Egypt is justifiably proud of its rich heritage from diverse civilisations and welcomes genuine interest from scholars eager to further advance knowledge into life in those times. For Egyptology is a study in its own right that transcends nationalities, although carried out under the watchful eye of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

It is not that Egypt wishes to be secretive about its ancient past - its museums are not only well kept, but informative in a variety of languages rather that it is careful to see no more of its treasures should end up in museums in other parts of the world.

Tourism is of course a major contributor to the nation's budget, representing about 25 percent of Egypt's total foreign exchange income. And as such,Egypt is proactive in attracting even more visitors to its shores. The State Information Services' website is one of the finest cultural sites on the Internet,including 43 sections on Egypt illustrated by 25,000 images. The SIS also produces a considerable amount of promotional literature each year in a number of languages,besides its annual Year Book and quarterly magazine 'Egypt' that features a host of interesting features and up-to-date news.

It is this awareness that tourism is like any other commodity and has to be properly packaged, that has seen the scope of Egyptian tourism aspects widen in recent years. While its antiquities will always be a major attraction, there is Scope too for further expansion in other Areas. Home to the origins of medicine, Egypt has many springs that possess therapeutic properties and therapeutic tourism is on the increase.

With a noticeable up-swing in the international demands for ecological and adventure tourism, Egypt is well provided to offer both safari tourism and visits to its nature reserves, both onshore and underwater.Akin to these is the rise in the number of sporting tourists, particularly diving and fishing in the Red Sea, whilst such notabl professionals as Britain's Nick Faldo maintain that Egypt has a bright futur for golfing holidays.

More tourists of course means more high-class facilities and the provision of hotel accommodation is rising at a steady pace to meet demand,particularly in the more recent tourism areas such as Sinai's Red Sea resorts. And having been welcoming visitors for many thousands of years,Egypt knows how to be the most receptive of hosts.